The industry insider brings a keen eye, valued relationships, and years of hands-on experience to her role.

The rapid growth continues for premier creative content studio Ntropic. Not only did the multifaceted company recently move its New York City office to an impressive new location, it also added more firepower to its East Coast roster with the hiring of Helena Lee as executive producer.

“Helena will be a driving force as Ntropic harnesses the power of recent achievements and looks forward to the vast possibilities ahead,” says Nathan Robinson, founder and executive creative director at Ntropic. “Her ability to build long-lasting relationships and foster creative environments makes her a vital addition to our team. We know her leadership will help our enterprising New York office thrive.”

Lee will play a key role in the continued success and development of Ntropic, utilizing her experience from years working with diverse post-production houses and creative agencies to bolster the dynamic team and lead it into the future. Beyond her distinguished resume, Lee brings a notable passion to her work as well as an eagerness to push boundaries and encourage novel concepts.

“I am thrilled to join the Ntropic team! It has always been a standout studio in my eyes,” Lee says. “My main goal is to continue to grow the business as it adapts and morphs in this innovative field.”

Ntropic Handles the Hues in Bruno Mars’ New Music Video “That’s What I Like”

April 28, 2017

Edit out the multitude of synchronized dancing extras, pair down the lofty sets, and simplify the story: In the new video for “That’s What I Like,” Bruno Mars takes center stage and gives a swoon-worthy performance, grandiose in its minimalistic charm. Aided by the talented work of in-demand senior colorist Marshall Plante, as well as a few perfectly-placed graphics from General Population, Mars demands attention with his quintessential swagger.

The song, off the singer’s recently released “24K Magic” album, does much of the work on its own, but Mars’ one-man-show abilities are highlighted throughout the video. Dancing in front of a white background that—with the help of Plante’s praised work—shifts in shades, the piece continually transitions and evolves for a solo saga.

This isn’t the first time Plante has collaborated with the pop star. The colorist also lent his talents to the dynamic entertainer in Mark Ronson’s vintage-inspired video for “Uptown Funk,” which featured another scene-stealing performance by Mars.

From Conception to Realization, Ntropic Produces an Otherworldly Crunchyroll Promo

April 28, 2017

It’s a seemingly simple scene, a man enters a cafe and studies his fellow patrons, but with the help of the Ntropic team, the cafe becomes an otherworldly place with instantly complex characters and revelatory anime-inspired effects. This ode to anime was crafted for leading global Asian media video service, Crunchyroll and quickly became a labor of love for the Ntropic crew.

Written by Ntropic’s Ron Moon and directed by Founder and ECD Nathan Robinson, the promo titled “Cafe Anime” creates a fascinating space where fantasy and science fiction intermingle for the piece’s hero. “It’s this really magical experience where through the Crunchyroll app, he basically can see these things that nobody else can see,” says Tali Oliver, ACD at Ntropic.

The production team garnered inspiration for lighting, wardrobe, and location from many popular anime shows, ensuring that they stayed true to the original content and the culture that is connected to it. “Nate Robinson, our director, tied all these elements together while getting great performances from our actors,” Oliver says.

The meticulously shot piece was further enhanced with the help of our animators and a team of effects artists who added unique touches throughout the promo. The end result is a product that artfully portrays the Crunchyroll community and inspires users to interact with it.

To kick off the season-three premiere of Fox’s Empire, San Francisco-based Ntropic designed the above interactive billboard, which currently lives on Times Square in New York City.

In just a few seconds, the billboard tells the story of the rise of Lucious and Cookie Lyon from grit to glamour as the king and queen of Empire Entertainment.

“To celebrate the return of our hit show Empire, we wanted to create a big, splashy piece for our outdoor media venue,” said Ian MacRitchie, Fox’s vice president of broadcast design, in a statement. “We found a creative partner in Ntropic to create a piece of marketing that breaks through – in this case, in a very noisy environment like Times Square.”

Led by Ntropic’s Creative Director Simon Mowbray and Art Director James McCarthy, the team found inspiration in the show’s focus on fashion. Describing the challenge of transitioning from still art to live-action footage, Executive Producer Michelle Hammond said, “We needed a breakaway moment, but we didn’t want it to feel violent, or to look like the paint was washing away their faces. The idea of using fabric to model the motion of the particles and the infusion of these gold elements and lots of dust particulates allowed us to emphasize the fashion elements of the show and drive home the characters’ rags-to-riches story.”

Bringing their collective expertise in particle effects, the team tested and iterated on the simulation until the movement flowed naturally and the vision was brought to life. “Particles are hard to art direct; they’re based on physics and involve a lot of unseen geometry to achieve the desired effect,” said Ron Moon, head of production and senior producer. “With particle simulation, we do a lot of work to handcraft something aesthetically beautiful.”

The billboard will remain in place in Times Square until the show premieres on Fox on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 9 p.m., and it will also appear over the Godzilla Theater later this month.

Chick-fil-A’s new ad campaign features six different history icons who became successful against all odds even though their ideas and inventions were considered “crazy” during their time. Six Chick-fil-a history icons are featured: Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Ludwig van Beethoven, Amelia Earhart, Michelangelo, and Susan B Anthony. The campaign promotes the new Egg White Grill breakfast, mixing history lessons with pop culture, noting: “Chicken for breakfast, it’s not as crazy as you think.”

Sound was produced at One Union by sound engineer Joaby Deal and producer Lauren Mask. Music, “Pugs on a Rug”, was performed by Andrew Sherman and Max Schad, produced at Butter by senior producer Ryan Faucett.

CAA Marketing, Daniel Askill, and Ntropic. Who better to tell the story of the world’s first fully customized and individualized soda can.

Ntropic, CAA Marketing, Daniel Askill, and Diet Coke collaborated recently to show just how much an average (or even not so average) person craves a Diet Coke. The work highlights the unique “It’s Mine” can art – which varies between each individual can. The work broke just before the Oscars, and then a new more glamorous version graced the Oscars broadcast, instantly reaching an audience in the hundreds of millions.

What do the Aries 3 Mission in the Oscar™ Nominated blockbuster film The Martian, and Under Armour athletic wear have in common? Ntopic Colorist Nick Sanders, and his understated sense of hue and tone (see his reel here).

Branded Content is a slippery slope when it comes time for marketers to successfully integrate with entertainment properties. It’s up to craftspeople like Director Luke Scott and Colorist Nick Sanders to bring home organic seeming strategic content that resonates with the 100 million person strong audience of The Martian. Known for his meticulous creative eye, Sanders cut his teeth working with The Mill and brings an extensive background in photography and post production to his work as a colorist. He recently finished color work on Funny Or Die’s viral hit The Art of the Deal: The Movie, starring Johnny Depp.

Sanders was drawn to Ntropic from The Mill by Ntropic’s strong work and roster of talent: “I love Ntropic’s emphasis on a boutique experience for clients, and in that spirit I appreciate the freedom I have in expanding existing relationships and creating new ones around innovative work.” Sanders will be based at Ntropic Los Angeles, but will also color work in Ntropic’s San Francisco and New York offices.

Nowness / New York Times “Take Flight”

December 13, 2015

Ntropic is proud to share TAKE FLIGHT, a piece by The New York Timesthat truly defies gravity.

Featuring some of the year’s best actors, Ntropic provided color, VFX, and finishing to this stunning compilation of short films.

“Combine the precision of Hollywood blockbuster visual special effects studios with the mad scientist of Back to the Future, and you begin to sense what it is like to work with Ntropic and its VR partner Tactic.” –Sam McMillan, Communications Arts

Ntropic and Tactic and Virtual Reality. All in Communication Arts for November. If you grew up in the Ad world watching Creative Directors furtively dog-ear copies of the CA Annual, you know it’s got some cred. Pete, Tom and Nate made it into the pages of this hallowed publication, and we like it that way.

Ntropic’s Nathan Robinson Pushes the Limits of Creativity

September 22, 2015

Nate Robinson is a name that I’ve heard around Autodesk for a long time. Synonymous with creativity, technical expertise, and sheer Flame talent, one only has to see his work to understand why he inspires so many – so much so that at this year’s Flame Award event, Nate received a special recognition.

We recently visited Nate at Ntropic in New York to ask him how he pushes the limits of creativity with Flame Premium. Nate talked to us about the importance he puts on creative exploration, what it was like to work on Marco Brambilla’s extraordinary art project ‘Creation (Megaplex)’, and his passionate relationship with Flame.